I realize for many of you just hearing the word Islam upsets you.  But I’ll offer there are people who believe Christians are dangerous.  Many of them currently work in Washington, academia and news media.  The Twin Falls Islamic population is a fairly quiet sector of this community.  This is the United States of America and people are supposedly free to practice their own faith.  Whether or not you agree with what they believe.

The other day I received an email from the website GoFundMe.  The Islamic Center of Twin Falls plans its own cemetery.  A successful campaign would give the local Islamic community control of burial practices and allow Muslims to more closely adhere to their faith.

I’m surprised there isn’t more of an emphasis on burial for Christians.  Back east, many communities have separate cemeteries for Protestants and Catholics.  Differences between denominations may appear insignificant to people fully immersed in our post-Christian culture.  I, for one, side with the faithful.  Catholic cemeteries are generally going to be affiliated with the Roman Church and there are going to be some differences in how we bury the dead and maintain their graves.  Even if the distinctions are often minor.

A Protestant pastor told me this week burial practices have changed over the course of a century.  Many people are today cremated.  Christians used to view the burning of corpses as pagan ritual.

When I was in college, a professor of mine pastored a small church on the Seneca Nation.  He once told me he opposed cremation because as he put it, “When you move from one house to another, you don’t burn the old one”.

I give the Islamic Center some credit for trying to maintain identity.  Even in death.

KEEP READING: Here are the most popular baby names in every state

Using March 2019 data from the Social Security Administration, Stacker compiled a list of the most popular names in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C., according to their 2018 SSA rankings. The top five boy names and top five girl names are listed for each state, as well as the number of babies born in 2018 with that name. Historically common names like Michael only made the top five in three states, while the less common name Harper ranks in the top five for 22 states.

Curious what names are trending in your home state? Keep reading to see if your name made the top five -- or to find inspiration for naming your baby.

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